Bavaria

Upper Franconia

Bayreuth

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Bayreuth was not the first choice. When Richard Wagner roughly sketched his Festival idea in 1850, his thoughts circled around Zurich or Weimar, and later around Munich. Twenty years passed until, in terms of modern jargon, he “googled” the name of the Frankish gem; Hans Richter had drawn him to the vacant Margravial Opera House of the city of Bayreuth. A year later, the first visit of the town followed, the house proved to be unsuitable for the purpose of the Ring performance, but the city pleased the composer. On 22 May 1872, the foundation was laid, but the construction came to a hold shortly afterwards: the attempt to erect the present-day Festival Hall as a “crowdfunding project” failed because of financial issues. It was only when King Ludwig II provided the necessary funds by means of credit that the construction continued. On 13 August 1876, the first Bayreuth Festival began.

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